Joseph Thomas obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Mumbai in 1962. His research interest was in biological nitrogen fixation and biotechnology. He established that heterocysts of cyanobacteria are the site of nitrogen fixation. He pioneered the use of radioactive nitrogen and demonstrated the glutamine synthase-glutamate synthase pathway in microbes and plants. His other significant contributions were the mechanisms of salt tolerance, sodium transport metabolism, and organization of nif genes in cyanobacteria, biochemical characterization of glutamine synthetases, and legume-Rhizobium interactions. He established the Centre for Biotechnology at SPIC Science Foundation, Chennai. Dr. Thomas received the FICCI award (1991-1992). He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore; National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi

Jnanedra Nath Ray received his DSc from the University of Manchester, the UK, in 1934. He contributed significantly to the fields of pharmacology and organic chemistry. He did pioneering work on alkaloids, anesthetics, and chromatography. He was the Technical Adviser to the Government of India and was involved in planning the first five-year plan. He was the President Indian Science Congress(1937); elected fellow of the Indian Chemical Society and Royal Institute of Chemistry, London.

16-17 November, 2022

At Brussels and Virtual.